We also speak with MFCC founder Ryan Collins, Goose Hummock store manager Dan Jones, and MFCC member Bruno Demir of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi.

A full-length written transcription of today's podcast is also available at the bottom of this post. For a quick overview of the guests and what is discussed, please scroll below.

Next in today's podcast is MFCC member Bruno Demir of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi. When we spoke with Bruno he was live on the water fishing out in Nantucket Sound.

According to Bruno, the fishing for tog over rocky bottom in the Sound has been good. In fact, Bruno had 4 keeper tog in the box when we spoke. 

Bruno had also caught a juvenile black sea bass and several hubcap size scup. Squid fishing is also still happening in the Sound.

Wrapping up today's podcast is captain Matt Reinemo of Nantucket Tackle Center. According to Matt, freshwater fishing on the island is good, and the first migratory striper was caught the other day.

According to Matt, tautog is not a species often caught on Nantucket, but there are some wrecks and jetties worth targeting. Holdover striped bass are also still in the bays, and it won't be long until black sea bass and other saltwater species move into the area.

Matt goes on to give us a preview of what's to come on Nantucket Island throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Members of MFCC can access his full report by clicking play below, or by reading the podcast transcription.

Podcast Transcription

Speaker 1:
Welcome to the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast. The My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is your local source for the latest news and information on fishing Cape Cod. Now here's your host, Kevin Collins.

Kevin:
Well, hello and welcome to another edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast here from myfishingcapecod.com. I'm your host, Kevin Collins, back with you for our first episode in the beautiful month of May here on Cape Cod. And the weather's warming up a little bit, and so is the action out there.

We're seeing a lot of different species start to move into the area and we've got an action-packed fishing report podcast lined up for you today. We're going to be led off by MFCC founder and creator Ryan Collins. We're then going to be joined by Danny Jones from down behind the counter at the Goose Hummock shop in Orleans. Next up we're going to be joined by a first time podcast guest, and that is none other than Abbie Schuster from Kismet Outfitters over on Edgartown on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard.

We're then going to jump into Nantucket Sound to get a live fishing report from our buddy Bruno Demir from Cape & Islands Mitsubishi, who is going to be joining us from onboard his boat. And last but not least, we're going to head out to Nantucket to check in with our buddy Matt Reinemo.

So, let's dive right into today's show. Well, it's time now to welcome in our first guest on this week's edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast, and that is none other than MFCC founder and creator, Ryan Collins. Ryan, how are you on this beautiful morning?

Ryan:
I'm doing great. What a gorgeous Friday. Really awesome. Really awesome day.

Ryan's Report

Squid fishing report

Kevin:
I'm doing great. Not as good as you though, because I know you got out on the water yesterday. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your tin boat adventure yesterday?

Ryan:
Yeah. I used the tin boat for the first time yesterday. Everything ran pretty well. I met up with Ryan Henry of the Goose Hummock shop and we went out in the Centerville River down off the south side of Barnstable and we caught some squid and I was really torn, Kevin. I was looking out at the water thinking, "Should I go? Should I not go?" I don't know if you were looking at the ocean yesterday, but the wind was coming out of the Northwest. So, over on the Cape Cod Bay side, it was pretty rough. But down on the south side, it was relatively calm, but there was still a little bit of a bit of a breeze and you know, in the little boat you have to be extra cautious.
But fortunately the wind did lay down. We were able to get out. We probably got maybe 15 squid in an hour or maybe two hours or so. And that's pretty good. No sonar on the little boat. We're not able to get out to where the big fleet is. So, I was happy with that, but the mung? Oh my God, the seaweed yesterday was outrageous, Kevin.

Kevin:
So, that's something that I'm not seeing here in Cape Cod Bay. Why do you think that's a product of more the south side right now?

Ryan:
I'm not really sure. I grew up fishing Cape Cod Bay primarily, and I've dabbled a lot off the south side, but I'm not really sure exactly why there was so much mung in the water yesterday, but it was everywhere. We'd put our squid jigs down and we think we'd have a squid on the line and we'd pull it up and it was a big thing of mung. So, hopefully that clears out for anybody heading out this weekend. But last night when we were finishing up, oh my God, the sunset was spectacular last night. I looked out as far as I could see pretty much across the horizon were people on boats with lights shining. It was like a city out there. Everybody was squid fishing into the night last night. So, I'm sure they did pretty well. And I've seen some people post some photos in the forum of their nighttime squid fishing adventures. It seems like everybody's filling up coolers, but it was quite the sight. There were actually some people taking pictures of it last night. It was like a floating city out there.

Tautog and scup report for Buzzard's Bay

Kevin:
Now, we're going to get a boat report in a little bit from our buddy Bruno, And he's going to talk a little bit about tog and scup fishing, but I understand you got a chance to do some tog and scup fishing as well earlier this month.

Ryan:
Yeah. On May 3rd, this past Monday, I took my mom and my dad out on the Miss Loretta and we got a new engine for the Miss Loretta. She's running well. We went out into Upper Buzzards Bay with green crabs and we caught some tog. We only got one keeper, but we got maybe five that were pretty close to keepers, just a little short. And we caught some really nice big scup, like really big scup, and I brought those home and we're probably going to have them for dinner tonight. So, that was pretty successful for a couple hours in the afternoon on Monday.
I know some folks who have been putting in a little bit more time are getting their limits of tog in Buzzards Bay, no problem. I've seen some really nice fish taken and pictures shared. I know Alex Ridgeway and his buddy, they got a really nice one earlier in the week. So, the tog fishing is happening. Get yourself some green crabs. And the squid that I was catching, that would probably be pretty good for bait too. And I think you had some luck with squid last spring with tog, if I remember.

Kevin:
Yeah, yeah. I had good luck with squid for tog, but also just squid on a weighted hook and that was really effective, I think, for scup as well. You don't even really need a jig or anything. As long as you've got squid and you can get it down to the bottom, I think that's a good, effective strategy for scup as well, if that's something you're interested in fishing for.

Ryan:
Yeah. And I was just reviewing some of my underwater footage from yesterday and there are scup moving into the squid grounds. So, I don't know how much longer that action's got to continue for because I did see some nice schools of scup on the underwater camera yesterday. So, that's a option for folks heading out. Scup are a lot of fun. They put up a good fight and they're definitely here.

Kevin:
Ryan, let's talk about striped bass. We're still early in the season. We're going to spend the majority of our spring, I think, talking about tog and scup and sea bass that will move into the area. I know the sea bass season in Massachusetts starts up here on May 18th, which is about 10 days away from when we're recording this podcast. But let's talk about stripers real quick. I'm hearing some rumors of potentially some fish showing up.

Striped bass update

Ryan:
Yeah. So, there's fish showing up. There's schools here and there. Based off what I'm hearing, it doesn't seem like there's a giant biomass that arrived overnight, although that could happen at any moment. But it seems like folks are hitting some sporadic schools of fish here and there. I've heard good reports down off the south side of Dennis.

Yesterday I might've seen a few splashes off of the south side of Barnstable on our way back into the Centerville River. And I know Buzzards Bay, both sides of Upper Buzzards Bay, folks have caught schoolies. I think some of them are holdovers. Some of them are definitely fresh arrivals. I think Nick [Camperell 00:07:19] had a good night last night. I know he shared a photo recently, so they're definitely here. I gave it a try about a week ago on April 29th and I got a hit.

I definitely had one come up and hit my popper, but I missed him and that was in Buzzards Bay. So, they're definitely here.

And actually, I know later in our conversation, I think we were going to talk about the canal, but I'll just hop into that right now because I was looking in the forum this morning, there's a canal 2021 thread in there, and some folks have already caught fish at the canal. 

Cape Cod Canal fishing report

So, 11 hours ago, Leo Schmidt posted that he got two little guys on the Western end today on the incoming tide. And he's got a nice picture here, a beautiful, fresh striper.

And then I'm going to scroll up just a little more and it looks like Tyler Martin made a post. His good friend Ed caught a striper today. That was yesterday. Caught a striper yesterday on one of Tyler's handmade canal jigs. And I know you record a podcast with Tyler all about those canal jigs, and I'm going to be publishing that soon. And then Tyler, 48 hours ago, he himself got into some fish on magic swimmers.

Kevin:
There you go.

Ryan:
And let's see what else is going on there. That's about it for latest canal news, but that's pretty promising right there. Those are the first fish that I can confirm were caught from the canal in 2021. So, it's pretty awesome. It's good stuff.

Long-distance casting competition & giveaways

Ryan:
Yes, it is. So, folks who have been keeping tabs on the forum, you might've seen this. It was hidden in some of the threads, but Striper Madness. Mike Marcus has organized a long distance casting competition for tomorrow.

You need to register with Mike if you'd like to be part of this. I think we've got 35 people registered and it looks like the weather's going to be pretty good tomorrow. So, I've got a 11-foot [sawdex 00:09:37] rod and a brand new Tsunami shield. And we're going to have a little raffle tomorrow for the people who have pre-registered with Mike. Everybody will have a chance at winning that, and I'll bring some other prizes as well. So, that'll be a fun day for sure.

Kevin:
And along the topic of giveaways, I know you're still doing weekly giveaways left and right. Can you give us an update on those?

Ryan:
Sure. John Kingston won a Tsunami Forged 8 Conventional reel, as well as some bottom fishing rigs from Cousin Eddy, who has started Monomoy Tackle LLC. So, he won that giveaway. And then Dave Lane, who is in his 80. He's one of the older members on the site.

We do have quite a few members who are in their 80s who are out there fishing, which is terrific. You guys are an inspiration. And he won a surf bag and a My Fishing Cape Cod inscribed Strategic Angler lure. So, that's awesome. And we're going to have these giveaways. I'm just got to keep rolling them out. So, I've got some other rods and reels here. I've got some other ideas for trips, et cetera. And I hope to do these giveaways for members weekly throughout the year.

MFCC top catches and new content

Kevin:
And Ryan, looking at the website here as I'm scrolling through, you've got a new, quote, "Top Catchers" blog post. I know you've been doing this quite a bit in the spring and you've even done some giveaways, raffle type giveaways based on these blog posts.

Ryan:
Yes. So, I've teamed up with My Fishing Cape Cod intern, Brett D'Alelio, and Brett has gone through the forum on a weekly basis over the last couple of weeks, and he's just extracted some of the most interesting catches and stories and featured them in a Top Catches blog post. And this last one was terrific.

A lot of people still freshwater fishing and obviously folks are hitting the salts. And check it out because if you're posting in the forum, you might get featured in this blog post. And like you said, I haven't done a drawing yet for this most recent Top Catches, but for the first one that we did, we did a surprise drawing and some of the people who were featured got some free MFCC swag from it. So, just another fun thing and just a small way for us to say thank you to everybody who's posting in the forum.

Kevin:
Yeah. And in terms of the website diversifying as well, we've got the Top Catches blog posts that are going up. It seems like we've got raffles going on if not weekly, almost every couple of days. And another thing that's really been, I think, catching people's eyes on the website are the recipes that your beautiful, lovely wife Lauren is also contributing to the website. I know there's a creamy pesto lobster pasta recipe that went up. And that's just a great addition to the website in terms of inspiring people to make their own food, especially from things they might be able to harvest from the sea.

Ryan:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And she uses all organic ingredients. It's all good stuff. It's all light stuff. Most of it is dairy-free. It's feel good food. I mean, I eat it and I feel great. A lot of it we're starting to get from the garden. So, for example, we've got some bok choy growing. We've got raspberries. We've got blueberries. We've got cranberries. We've got broccolis. We've got asparagus. We've got lettuces. We've got a lot of stuff growing here.

And we're coupling that as much as we can with stuff that I bring home. So, I've got some fresh squid cup and I even brought home a sea robin from yesterday's trip. And to curtail off that a little more, back on April 23rd and April 26, I brought home some black crappies from a pond that is just a little off Cape. And those were delicious too. And the freshwater fish, yellow perch, black crappies in particular, they're really delicious. I don't know if you've ever eaten them before, Kevin.

Kevin:
I haven't. No, I haven't.

Ryan:
Well, maybe we'll change that one of these days because they are absolutely delicious. And for anybody who's interested in black crappie fishing, they're not native to Cape Cod's ponds, but there are plenty of lakes and ponds throughout Massachusetts that have them. And there's a report that I published this past week about my experience catching them. We used little panfish jigs and I was even able to get some footage of the crappies hitting the panfish jigs, which was pretty cool. So, you can check that out over on the blog as well.

Kevin:
All right, Ryan. I'll let you get back to enjoying your day. It's a peach of a day out there, and thanks so much for kicking off the podcast, like always.

Ryan:
My pleasure. I'm looking forward to hearing from the rest of the guests.

Danny's Report

Kevin:
Well, next up on this week's edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is our good buddy Danny Jones from down at the Goose Hummock shop in Orleans. Danny, how are you on this beautiful morning?

Dan:
Excellent, Kevin. How are you?

Kevin:
It's great to be with you. I feel like life is moving into the area. I'm looking out my window at Cape Cod Bay, but it's a bright bluebird day and I got to tell you, I've got the itch to get out there.

Dan:
No, I understand completely. I'm looking out of Phil's office myself, looking at Town Cove, and the guys are putting the docks in. We're starting to get our moorings put in. Everyone's just itching and chomping ti get out on the water because there's a lot going on in this time of year.

Kevin:
And I know there's a lot of foot traffic coming in the store, Danny. And I just wanted to ask a little bit about the chatter coming in and out of the store. I know freshwater is still going strong and schoolie is showing up. There's a lot of things going on. What's the chatter been like in the store?

Dan:
There's been a lot of chatter in a lot of different areas, like you were saying. The freshwater does remain strong. They're still continuing to stock. There's a lot. I see more and more people over in Nickerson State Park. But on the other hand, there's guys coming into the store. They're tog fishing. Some of these guys are starting to finally catch some schoolie stripers in some of the estuaries, and that's getting better and better with each tide. And squidding. That's another big thing. We've been selling a lot of squid jigs over the last week. I've been seeing a lot of posts and pictures and that's really, really come alive.

Squidding report

Kevin:
Let's talk about the squidding for a sec, because I know that's really hot and it's also a very limited window that folks really get into them. Can you talk a little bit about the gear that you guys have or that you've been moving to help these guys get on them?

Dan:
Yeah. Like I said, we carry a large variety of different squid jigs. We have different Hi-lo squid jigs. Then I have a few that come in a three-way, almost like, what's the word I'm thinking of? Like a Sabiki rig almost, but with squid jigs. You don't really need much to do it. I mean, guys are just using simple spinner rods, six and a half, seven foot spinning rods and just tying on a jig and looking for them. It's a pretty easy and fun thing to do for the family as well.

Freshwater fishing report

Kevin:
And touching on the freshwater real quick, before we dive right into the saltwater, what's been moving there in terms of stock in the store? What are folks having luck with, especially with the trout?

Dan:
Well, we do have bait. We sell a lot of shiners. If you're looking for a big fish, that's really the way to go. But a lot of guys just like to put their waders on, their chest highs, and walk around the pond casting with spoons. So we're selling a lot of shiny stuff like Colorado spoons in the copper gold patterns, some Thomas buoyants in the rainbow patterns. But on a sunny day like today, basically anything shiny, Mepps spinners, anything like that. But we're selling a lot of that stuff.

Blackfish (tautog) fishing report

Kevin:
Now in terms of saltwater, we touched on the squid. I'm also hearing reports of good sized keeper tog. Been hearing anything about that bite?

Dan:
Like I said, there's been people in the store getting ready to go out tog fishing, but I haven't had any solid reports as of yet. I would not be surprised at all. One of our employees, Matt, that works downstairs in our shipping department, he's actually going on a tog trip tomorrow. I'm not sure who he's fishing with, but hopefully I'll get some intel from him because the following week, myself personally, I'm on vacation, so I want to try and do at least two or three different things throughout the course of the week.

Getting ready for tuna

Kevin:
Another thing that I wanted to touch on in terms of Team Goose is I know tuna season is right around the corner and there's going to be a huge crunch on guys coming in, getting their boats all rigged up and getting their gear maintained as they head out for the season. Talk a little bit about tuna season on the horizon.

Dan:
Yeah. Tuna season, June 1st. That's right around the corner. I like to reiterate to people, if you got tuna reels, if you've got 50-class, 80s, 70s or 130s and you need those real spooled up, now's the time to do it. I've been a little bit overwhelmed over the last six weeks. I had as many as 75 reels at one point where we are sending them out for clean and lube. And then when they come back, I put new Hollow Core or Dacron in the top shots. But it's time consuming. To do it professionally and correctly, it takes about 45 minutes for each reel. So, if you've got reels you need to get done, get them in here sooner than later.

Kevin:
Yeah. And in terms of what you guys offer in terms of tuny gear, what's the inventory been like? Are you guys stocking up?

Dan:
Yes. At this point right now we have... For a while we were chasing a little bit, but over the last two or three weeks, I've got plenty of Tiagras. I got 130s. The 80s I'm a little bit lean on. I just got in some 50s the other day. I have plenty of Penn reels in 130s, 80s and 50s. And I also have a large variety of Alutecnos reels in 130 and 80s as well. So as for reels right now, we're in pretty good shape.

Schoolie striper report

Kevin:
The last thing I wanted to touch on is just the schoolie striper action. I know that's been something that's been bubbling up here. I've been hearing some reports of some fish, maybe under bait. Have you heard anything about schoolie stripers other than maybe the estuary type stuff? Have you heard of any migratory fish up in the area?

Dan:
Not so much. Like I said, it's been mostly the schoolies anywhere from like the 12 or 16 inch area. I believe it was Jake and his girlfriend were out in Pleasant Bay recently. I know they got quite a few over there, but nothing really of size as of yet.

Kevin:
Perfect, Danny. Thank you so much for all of your help and for coming on the podcast today. The info is greatly appreciated. Again, Danny Jones from down at the Goose Hammock in Orleans. And what are your store hours right now currently, Danny?

Dan:
Currently right now we're still at 9:00 AM till 5:30, but I'm sure come around June 1st or the end of this month here, we're going to be going to 8:00 to 6:00 seven days a week and then Sundays 8:00 to 4:00 as well.

Kevin:
Perfect. And you can always get the gear at themightyfish.com, which is the Goose Hummock's gear website. Danny Jones, thanks so much for your time, and we look forward to chatting with you down the road.

Dan:
Thanks, Kevin. You have a wonderful day, okay?

Abbie's Report

Kevin:
Well, next up on this week's edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is Abbie Schuster, and Abbie is a very special guest on today's show. It's her first time here on the MFCC podcast. So Abbie, on behalf of the entire My Fishing Cape Cod community, welcome to the show.

Abbie:
Thanks so much for having me.

Kevin:
Abbie, you're located over on Martha's Vineyard. Is that correct?

Abbie:
Yep. We are located right in Edgartown.

Kevin:
So, Kismet Outfitters is what Abbie's referring to and you can find them in Edgartown or at kismetoutfitters.com. And can you tell us a little bit about what Kismet Outfitters has to offer the fishermen, Abbie?

Kismet Outfitters & background info

Abbie:
Yeah. So, we opened the fly shop last June, quite the time to open one. And so we had the fly shop and then we offer full and half day trips. I run a 23-foot Parker and also an 18-foot Flats boat. Martha's Vineyard has amazing shore fishing, so we also offer shore trips and we have all the beach permits so we can drive down the beaches and stuff. And then another fun thing that we started last year is paddleboard rentals and trips, and then also fly fishing trips off them, which is really cool because they provide an incredible advantage point on the Flat. He can actually see this fish and be super, super, super stealthy, which is pretty fun.

Kevin:
And Abbie, I see on kismetoutfitters.com, you're also a yoga instructor as well.

Abbie:
Yeah. Yep. So, I teach yoga all winter long and just one day a week in the summer because I'm so busy guiding, but yeah.

Kevin:
Can you give us a brief background on how you found your way to Martha's Vineyard, Abbie?

Abbie:
Yeah. So I learned to fly fish out here when I was a baby off my dad's shoulders, actually. So, it was pretty dangerous, but we survived. My grandmother lived out here, so we came out all the time. Then I went out west for college, University of Montana, and there was a guide school out there and started guiding out there. Then when I started Kismet in 2016, I moved back home here.

Martha's Vineyard striper report

Kevin:
That's an awesome story. And let's get into what's going on over there on Martha's Vineyard. We're pretty much finishing up our first full week of May. What's going on in terms of striped bass on Martha's Vineyard?

Abbie:
Yeah. This is a first. I guided every day this week. I was so happy and we got fish. At the beginning of the week, it was a little bit harder actually than the end. But they're in the back in the ponds and stuff. I've seen some in the surf, but not as much as in the pond where the water is just a little bit warmer. And nothing big yet, mostly just schoolies, but there's some bait fish starting to come in and you can tell it's definitely about to take off.

Kevin:
What are these fish, do you think, eating in the bait fish? Are they squid? What's going on in terms of bait?

Abbie:
So, I haven't seen any squid yet actually, but I'm sure any day. I've been using just little [Sandio 00:23:49] patterns, Mike Wright from Mud Dog Flies ties a fly called Dazzle Bait and that's been the go-to fly. It's worked really, really well.

Kevin:
And in terms of your guiding the trips that have recently started to pick up, are you booked through the summer? How do folks get in touch with you if they want to book?

Abbie:
Yeah. Som the best way to get in touch with me is via email because I'm on the water most days. My phone also is the worst. But [email protected]. And so I'm guiding full time and then my brother is also a full-time guide for me. He started a few years ago guiding with me and he's doing awesome. He's a great kid. So yeah, either one of us will do that.

Kevin:
And you mentioned you had two different types of boats that you're running. So, my guess is you offer a little bit different experience on each boat. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Abbie:
Yeah. So, the Flats boat, we really focus in on little ponds and inlets that are super, super shallow. And obviously the flats. We have amazing flats on the island. It's just like bonefishing really, except it's almost harder because they're tricky, these stripers. But you can get really into some skinny water, which is really fun. And then the Parker, it only draws 18-inches actually. So, we can still get in those small spots, but we have the ability to go out to the rips and fish bigger water, which is really fun when the school are here because the sea stripers surfing the waves in the rips and it's a lot of top water action and it's just such a visual time of year. It's so much fun.

More Vineyard fishing options

Kevin:
And we're talking a lot about stripers here on the show and that's what most folks are really interested in. But can you talk about the other species that you target as well on Martha's Vineyard?

Abbie:
Yeah. So, soon the bluefish will start to move in and those are really fun. They get a bad rap sometimes, but they are strong, fun frigging sash. And then in August the bonito will roll in and those are absolutely crazy, super, super beautiful and fun. And then our prime time is September and October where all four species will be here, the false albacore, bonito, stripers, and bluefish. And the false albies are crazy. They're so much fun.

Kevin:
And I saw a video on the website, I think, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but of you hauling in a sea bass and filleting it as well.

Abbie:
Oh yeah. We do get a lot of black sea bass. Every year it seems that we're getting more and more sea bass. Last year we were getting them off the surface in the rips, which is pretty. It was interesting. It was cool. And yeah, they're really delicious.

Kevin:
So, is your favorite way to fish... Obviously the fly is your passion. And would you say your wheelhouse is skinny water sight casting to these fish?

Abbie:
Yeah. That's my absolute favorite way to fish for them. We're so lucky we have the opportunity to do so here. But I mean, the rips and stuff are really fun as well. I just love that sneaky sight fishing experience.

Kevin:
So, talk a little bit about Kismet Outfitters. I know you're located in Edgartown. Can you give folks a good idea of where you're located? Give us some landmarks if they're on foot.

Abbie:
Yeah. So, it's 204 Upper Main Street in Edgartown. So, it's right outside of town on the main drag. It's right next to the Stop & Shop. There's a fun bar across the street called The Town and we have parking in the back, which is key. So, come on in and you park in the back, or we right on the bike path too.

Kevin:
What are your store hours this time of year, Abbie?

Abbie:
9:00 to 6:00 every day.

Kevin:
Awesome. And we'll keep folks updated on that if it changes throughout the season. You guys are open seven days a week?

Abbie:
We are.

Kevin:
Awesome. And it's kismetoutfitters.com on the web. Abbie, I really appreciate you joining us for your first visit and I hope we have you back on the show sometime soon.

Abbie:
Thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Bruno's Report

Kevin:
Well, next step on this week's edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is our good buddy Bruno Demir from down at Cape & Islands Mitsubishi. And Bruno, I hear I'm catching you in the act on this beautiful morning.

Bruno:
Yes, you are. Good morning and hello, MFCC. I'm out in the beautiful sea doing what I love doing.

Kevin:
So, you're on the boat this morning, Bruno. How's the wind? How's the water out there?

Bruno:
Well, as usual, the weatherman was off by a mile. I'm out in the Sound side. We got white caps and supposedly two-footers. They look more like four to fives today, but that's all right. That's nothing our down east boat, the [Gaviota 00:29:10], can't handle.

Kevin:
I know you're out in the Gaviota. How many trips is this for you this season, Bruno?

Bruno:
So, this is my third boat ride and my second actual fishing trip.

Kevin:
And who are you at with this morning?

Bruno:
We're out here with Uncle Izzy and cousin Alex.

Kevin:
All right. And what are you guys going to be doing in terms of targeting a species this morning?

Nantucket Sound tautog and scup report

Bruno:
Well, we got four tog keepers in the box, along with, surprising, are you ready for this? Big, big, hubcap scup, which I did not expect this early in the season. But they're already here so we grabbed a couple of big hubcap scup. We got some tog and now the tide changed and we're hoping with the outgoing tide, if the water temperature goes warmer, we're going to start getting a better bite.

Kevin:
Bruno, can you talk a little bit about how you got these big keeper tog? What you were using and what you were looking for in terms of a spot?

Bruno:
Sure. Down on the Sound side, right off of Hyannis, you got plenty of rock piles everywhere. So, the trick is to try to anchor right on top, literally on top of that rock pile. Because if you're too far away from the rock pile, they won't leave that structure very far. Tog seems to be lazy when it comes to that. And I probably went through about 20 of them before we were able to keep four. So, you're going to have to bring a lot of bait. And the bait of choice for us this morning was crabs, which I got from my buddies down at Riverview Bait and Tackle, from Lee.

Kevin:
Were those just those small green crabs, Bruno?.

Bruno:
That's it. You knock the legs off. You knock the claws off. You cut them in half, and then I like to peel the top shelf off so all the meat is exposed. And then I like to put my hook right through the middle leg hole, I guess they call that, and that's it. And they fight great and it's a hell of a time. Of course, we prefer to not have five foot seas while we're doing it, but that's fishing for you.

Kevin:
And Bruno, were you using a jig or were you just dropping the crab down with a weight?

Bruno:
We like to use tog jigs. There's plenty of tog jigs out there, many varieties. You don't want to pick them up too far off the ground. You want to keep them around four inches off the ground as you're jigging them. And you'll start feeling a little peck, peck, peck, and that's when you got to set the hook. It's a very subtle bite, so you got to be paying attention to it.

Kevin:
For these big scup, Bruno, that showed up, and that kind of surprised you, a very pleasant surprise, Were you fishing for a tog with the same setup-

Bruno:
Yeah.

Kevin:
... and they were mixed in or did you have a different setup for the scup?

Bruno:
Yeah. There was one area where, are you were ready for this? There was even juvenile sea bass.

Kevin:
Wow.

Bruno:
We saw five or six juvenile sea bass, which was, I can't believe they're here that early. So, I guess the water temperature has a lot to do with it. Right now it's 52 degrees this morning. It was 53 closer in. And I think that was a bunch of sea bass and scup. And then we picked up the anchor, we moved a little bit and then it was tog after tog.

Kevin:
Yeah. It sounds like you just hit a big biomass of life, which is pretty awesome.

Nantucket Sound squidding

Bruno:
Yeah. I know that there's a lot of boats out here still squidding. The squid bite is still on this week and they'll probably be on for another four or five days before we'll probably... Because if I see scup and I'm seeing sea bass already, then there's a pretty good chance the blues are going to be moving in early this year, which ultimately means the squid will start getting scattered around, you know?

Kevin:
Yep. Anything else interesting that you've seen out there that you want to pass along to folks?

Bruno:
Nope. Right now that's all. We're togging. That's all I see. I did see some birds on bait. I tried to go by them to see if by chance there was schoolies under them. I'm going to guess that it was schoolies. It's way too early for blues to be here. So, seeing birds like that on top of bait tells me there's got to be something under it.

Kevin:
Was that around sunrise, Bruno, or was that real early?

Bruno:
That was early. We got out here around 6:00 AM.

Kevin:
So, that's another promising sign, birds on bait right around or before sunrise. Sounds like things are heating up over there.

Bruno:
Yeah. I mean, like I always say, I mean, 50 degrees is the magic number that we're always looking for. So, quite promising to see.

Kevin:
The last thing I wanted to ask you about before I let you get back to fishing is, what's going on at the dealership with you out fishing? Is it open today?

Bruno:
The dealership is open for business. I'm always at the dealership or I'm with my family, and for once you've caught me while I'm having a little fun. The dealership is open for business. We just got our brand new 2022 Outlander and it's already winning awards. It's a total game changer. So, if you're in the market for an SUV, before you pull the trigger, take a look at a Mitsubishi full-size Outlander SUV. It's about $8,000 less than a Toyota ora Honda.

Kevin:
All right, Bruno. That sounds great. I'm going to let you get back to fishing, let you get back to what's important, but I appreciate you giving us a live update from out there.

Bruno:
You got it, guys. Tight lines, everybody, and try to get out there when you can, because the season is officially on.

Matt's Report

Florida and Costa Rica update

Kevin:
Well, a big thanks to Bruno Demir from down at Cape & Islands Mitsubishi for joining us on this week's edition of the podcast. And especially thankful that Bruno had a chance to get out on the water and give us some live intel from his boat, the Gaviota. Always good to get that fresh information out on the podcast here. But we're going to pivot our attention from Nantucket Sound to Nantucket itself, and that is where our next visitor is going to join us from. Next up on this edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is Matt Reinemo from over on Nantucket. And Matt, for once am I actually catching you on the island?

Matt:
Yes. I'm here at my tackle store right now.

Kevin:
You finally returned home from journeys to Florida and Costa Rica. You've been like an international man of mystery trying to track you down.

Matt:
Yeah, it's been a busy month, but I'm back here. One of the things I was doing was picking up a new flat skiff. So, I'm excited to have that here and be able to offer my clients a snazzy new ride this June on the flats.

Kevin:
So, you had that going on down in Florida and then your trip, I'm hoping, was safe and not too eventful to Costa Rica. What was that like?

Matt:
It was a good trip. Me and my wife and our kids are going to go down for the year next winter to introduce our kids to a new language, new culture. Obviously, me getting some fishing in is a nice ancillary benefit to that. So, we were down checking out a school, checking out some housing options and we got all that taken care of, too. I did manage to get off shore one day. So, I got a couple of my first sailfish on the fly, which was exciting.

Kevin:
All right. So, you're back home in reality on Nantucket and you're greeted by, I'm sure, a pretty gusty wind and it's non 80 or 90 degree temperatures, but you're over at your shop, the Nantucket Tackle Center. Talk a little bit about your store and how it's doing so far this spring.

Nantucket freshwater fishing report

Matt:
We've had a busy spring, a great spring. We started a freshwater tournament a couple of years ago. That's been super popular. So, it's a month long tournament for the month of April and anglers are out there in the pond catching one of each available species and measuring them and letting them go or having them for dinner or whatever they want.

But it's formatted to be a release tournament if you want to release your fish. You don't need to bring them in for anything. All we do is snap a picture. And that was great. There's plenty of striped bass holdovers in the pond, so that's exciting. Good pickerel, good yellow perch, white perch, sunfish. So, we just wrapped that up and that gets people out and excited for the season. And then two days ago we had our first migratory fish, a migratory striper caught on the island. So, now people are real excited about that and they'll be hitting the beaches every night.

Striper report and sea bass outlook

Kevin:
So, I'm sure with that fish being caught and people getting wind that the striped bass are starting to trickle into the area, I'm sure you're going to get an influx of folks in the store. How does your inventory look with everything that's going on with COVID and all the shipping troubles that we have in today's world?

Matt:
It's definitely an issue, but we're doing pretty well. I think we handled it pretty well last year handled and we're in pretty good shape this year. We have all the staples. There's nothing that I can think of that you can come in and say, "Hey, I need this," and we can't get you something. Perhaps we don't have the exact reel brand or the exact rod model or whatever, but if you need to be fishing today, we can get you there.

Kevin:
And let's talk a little bit about the spring saltwater fishing over there. We touched on striped bass. What other species do you anticipate folks coming in to stock up for and look to target over the next couple of weeks?

Matt:
I think the opener of sea bass season will get people in the store and people will be headed out for that. I know that it seems like in some years past people are chomping at the bit and there's plenty of fish here on opening day. They've been nice keepers close to Nantucket and then other years it's like the season opens and there's still a little wait time before the fishing is good. So, it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out this year and if there, that opening day, there's a bunch of nice fish around. And then obviously striped bass. People are going to get excited and keep heading out to the beaches with more and bigger fish showing up every day. And then of course, hopefully bluefish will make a pretty good showing and we'll get those in a couple of weeks or so.

Kevin:
Now, when guys go and target the sea bass, I know it's pretty common in the waters surrounding Cape Cod or maybe over into the Buzzards Bay, you're going to get a mixture of, say, sea bass, scup to tog. It can almost be like a dealer's choice when you're dropping a jig down there. Does that occur out in Nantucket or is it just specifically a sea bass thing?

Matt:
No, that definitely occurs. There's certain spots and from Nantucket, a lot of guys are running back up into the Sound. So, we're fishing a lot of the same spots, I'm sure, that that the Cape guys are and Vineyard guys are. The Nantucket Harbor has jetties, so there can be scup and tog, sea bass on those. There's a couple of little wrecks that are fairly close to Nantucket that can also hold potentially all three. Being mostly sand and sandbars, I think that the tog are often overlooked. And there's not a ton of them, and certainly it's not a place I would ever recommend you come to try to catch one, but people are getting the hang of it and figuring out how to find crabs and use crabs. And so a couple people are catching a few tog around here now, more so than I think ever before.

Tackle center and guided trips update

Kevin:
The freshwater bite, I know you hinted at the tournament that just wrapped up for the month of April, but there's still plenty of freshwater action going on over there as well as we've turned the page into May?

Matt:
Yeah, definitely. Personally my own fishing, I'm kind of torn now to whether I want to go freeze my tail off on the beach trying to find an early schoolie or whether I want to go to a pond and have a nice mixed bag of big chain pickerel and perch, and they're all happy and hungry, and potentially some nice size holdovers in there too. So, people keep pond fishing for a while.

Kevin:
All right, Matt. One other thing I wanted to talk about before we wrap up today's show is just the logistics of the Nantucket Tackle Center. Can you talk about where it's located on the island?

Matt:
Sure. We're at 41 Sparks Avenue, which is right in the mid-island area right next to the main Stop & Shop on the island. We're connected to a Shell gas station. So, you can pull in and grab your gas, grab your groceries next door and get outfitted for your day on the water. We're open seven days now. Currently we're 10:00 to 6:00 on weekdays, 8:00 to 4:00 on weekends. But in the next couple of weeks we'll be expanding those hours considerably as people keep coming out to the island and it keeps getting busier.

Kevin:
Yup. And you guys have a website as well?

Matt:
We do. Www.fishingnantucket.com. You can buy whatever you need online. We're the home of Spoffords Lures now, so if you need any Spoffords gear for the bluefish, once they show up, or needlefish, Joppa jigs for schoolies, you can get them all on our website.

Kevin:
Matt, you spoke about your new boat that you have in the works that's going to be making its way back up here. Talk a little bit about your guide season, when that starts.

Matt:
I generally start giving guided trips around Memorial Day. I'm happy to do one earlier if the phone rings or whatever, but Memorial Day is when I plan on it and when I tend to start getting busy. And then from there until around July 1st, I'll mostly be on the flats. And then from there, I'll transition to rips, big bluefish offshore. And then in late July, bonito and the usual New England seasonal shuffle, I guess.

Kevin:
And for folks like myself that may not have a lot of experience fishing Nantucket that may be interested in doing a guided journey with you to learn the ins and outs of fishing, the water around the island, what's the best way to book a guide trip with you or to make contact about trying to book a guide trip?

Matt:
Email is easy. It's probably the best. That way if I'm on the water when you reach out, I can get back to you and we can go back and forth without necessarily having to connect on a phone call. And the email is easy as well. It's [email protected].

Kevin:
All right. That's perfect, Matt. Well, we want to wish you the best of luck in this early season. You're going to be a podcast contributor here all year long. We're really excited to have you on board, as well as the Nantucket Tackle Center, and we look forward to catching up with you next week.

Matt:
Great. Thank you very much. I look forward to it as well.

Kevin:
Thank you, Matt Reinemo from the Nantucket Tackle Center, and that's going to put the wraps on today's edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast. It was a heck of a show and I hope you all enjoyed it. I just want to thank all of our guests that took time out of their busy weeks to join us, starting with MFCC founder and creator, Ryan Collins, Danny Jones from the Goose Hummock down in Orleans, Abbie Schuster from Kismet Outfitters over on Martha's Vineyard, Bruno Demir of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi live from his boat, the Gaviota, and last but not least, Matt Reinemo from the Nantucket Tackle Center. So, thank you everybody, and thank you to all of our guests and thanks to all the members that took time out of their schedule to listen to this week's program. It's really an honor to be with you and do these reports each week, and we look forward to talking with you next week. So until we chat again, this is your host, Kevin Collins, signing off. Tight lines and take care.

Speaker 1:
Thanks for tuning in to the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast. For the latest local news information and fishing reports, be sure to log onto myfishingcapecod.com. From all of us at My Fishing Cape Cod, tight lines and take care.